With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

Attention Readers: Find Us in Your Mailbox Soon

With the coronavirus stats going in the right direction, all of us at C&G Newspapers look forward to resuming publication of the St. Clair Shores Sentinel and Birmingham-Bloomfield Eagle on May 27th. All other C&G newspapers will begin publishing on June 10th (Advertiser-Times on June 24th). In the meantime, continue to find local news on our website and look for us on Facebook and Twitter.

GROSSE POINTE SHORES — Arbor Day in Grosse Pointe Shores is always a “tree-mendous” celebration, but as the city marks its 16th anniversary as a Tree City USA, city leaders hope even more residents will get involved.

GROSSE POINTE SHORES — Arbor Day in Grosse Pointe Shores is always a “tree-mendous” celebration, but as the city marks its 16th anniversary as a Tree City USA, city leaders hope even more residents will get involved.

The city will host its 16th annual Arbor Day Fun Run — a 1-mile, 3K or 5K course open to Shores runners, walkers, inline skaters and strollers — starting at 9:30 a.m. May 5. Registration will start at 9 a.m. at Osius Park. The walk/run will go from Osius Park to the Edsel and Eleanor Ford House and back.

Participants need to fill out a form — available at Shores City Hall or on the city’s website — and submit it to Shores city offices by April 29 to receive a commemorative T-shirt; the $5 entry fee includes the shirt.

Besides the fun run, there will be information on the selection and maintenance of trees, presented by the Grosse Pointe Shores Tree Board; face painting by Jenay Tripp; and a display of posters by local schoolchildren focusing on the topic of tree diversity. All of these activities will take place at Osius Park. There’s no fee for any of these festivities.

This year, she said, second graders were added to the youngest group of participants. Winners are selected in groupings of second to fourth grade, fifth to sixth grade and seventh to eighth grade.

“The children (who participated last year) had their pictures taken and are in the (Shores) calendar for May,” Bai said. “Their smiles tell it all.”

During an April 16 Shores City Council meeting, Mayor Ted Kedzierski presented Bai and Tree Board Chair Brett Marshall with an Arbor Day proclamation in honor of their volunteer work for Arbor Day activities and tree preservation in the city.

“They work tirelessly to maintain our trees,” said Kedzierski, noting in particular “all of the hard work” done by Bai.

The mayor said the Shores has roughly 3,200 trees on city property alone. When combined with trees on private properties, the city enjoys a lush green canopy that adds value and beauty to the community.

In just the last 15 years, Bai said, the city has planted 397 trees in honor of Arbor Day.

The Shores is one of the more than 3,400 communities nationwide that take the steps necessary to become a Tree City USA, according to the national Arbor Day Foundation.

“That’s quite an honor that we share with (those communities),” Marshall said.

To be named a Tree City USA, the Arbor Day Foundation mandates that a community needs to celebrate Arbor Day, maintain a tree board or department, have a tree ordinance in place and spend at least $2 per capita on urban forestry.

“We are very fortunate to be a Tree City USA,” Bai said. “There are many hoops that we need to jump through, and we do it all successfully.”

The Arbor Day Foundation says that 2022 will mark the 150th anniversary of Arbor Day.

Bai said there will be “lots of good talk, good information” during the Arbor Day celebrations in the Shores, and she encourages everyone to come.

“It’s a great occasion,” she said.

For a fun-run registration form or more information about Arbor Day, visit www.gpshoresmi.gov.